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Healthcare providers in Kentucky: counts by specialty
How many healthcare providers work in Kentucky? The federal NPPES registry listed 111,563 active NPIs with a practice address in the state as of the June 2026 snapshot, the 28th largest workforce among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The single largest specialty is Family Nurse Practitioner, and Louisville is the city with the most records. The table below lists the 30 specialties with the most active providers and the share each one holds.
The 30 largest specialties in Kentucky
| # | Specialty (primary taxonomy) | Active NPIs | % of state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Nurse Practitioner | 5,877 | 5.3% |
| 2 | Clinical Social Worker | 4,439 | 4.0% |
| 3 | Pharmacist | 4,145 | 3.7% |
| 4 | Mental Health Counselor | 4,078 | 3.7% |
| 5 | Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 3,715 | 3.3% |
| 6 | Physical Therapist | 3,569 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Speech-Language Pathologist | 3,115 | 2.8% |
| 8 | Family Medicine Physician | 2,900 | 2.6% |
| 9 | Case Manager/Care Coordinator | 2,658 | 2.4% |
| 10 | Occupational Therapist | 2,398 | 2.1% |
| 11 | Professional Counselor | 2,392 | 2.1% |
| 12 | Behavior Technician | 2,328 | 2.1% |
| 13 | Nurse Practitioner | 2,055 | 1.8% |
| 14 | General Practice Dentistry | 2,049 | 1.8% |
| 15 | Physician Assistant | 1,991 | 1.8% |
| 16 | Internal Medicine Physician | 1,984 | 1.8% |
| 17 | Peer Specialist | 1,901 | 1.7% |
| 18 | Chiropractor | 1,820 | 1.6% |
| 19 | Counselor | 1,723 | 1.5% |
| 20 | Community Health Worker | 1,676 | 1.5% |
| 21 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 1,604 | 1.4% |
| 22 | Social Worker | 1,531 | 1.4% |
| 23 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner | 1,327 | 1.2% |
| 24 | Dentist | 1,287 | 1.2% |
| 25 | Optometrist | 1,236 | 1.1% |
| 26 | Addiction (Substance Use Disorder) Counselor | 1,187 | 1.1% |
| 27 | Community/Retail Pharmacy | 1,110 | 1.0% |
| 28 | Emergency Medicine Physician | 1,033 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Pediatrics Physician | 1,024 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Physical Therapy Assistant | 949 | 0.9% |
What the numbers show
Family Nurse Practitioner leads with 5,877 active records, 5.3% of everything the state has, or 1.3 times the volume of Clinical Social Worker, the runner up at 4,439. Pharmacist rounds out the podium with 4,145. Together, the top 5 specialties account for 19.9% of Kentucky's providers, and the 30 listed in the table cover 61.9% of the total. Overall, the state registry splits into 689 distinct taxonomies.
Geographically, active NPIs spread across 780 cities and towns in the state, but with heavy concentration: Louisville (27,050), Lexington (16,375) and Bowling Green (3,620) post the largest volumes. Kentucky holds 1.2% of all active US providers registered across the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Source and method
Data: NPPES Data Dissemination file (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System), published by CMS as public domain data, snapshot of June 2026. Each provider is counted once, in the state and city of the Provider Business Practice Location, under the primary taxonomy declared in the NPI record itself. Only active NPI records are counted.
Important: an active NPI does not mean the professional is currently practicing, accepting new patients or even still working in the field; it only means the registration number remains valid. This page publishes aggregate counts only, never individual records.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources